Chapter 53
“We’re friends,” Aaron interjected. “And we’d be friends even if we didn’t have the boys in common.”
I wanted so much for that to be true. Of course, if Aaron knew I had gone and fallen in love with him, he might be singing a different tune.
“Can we all agree that regardless of what happened, we’re dealing with a relatively minor issue that got blown out of proportion?” I could see neither one of them wanted to agree to that, but I didn’t care. “We’ll give Morgan some strategies besides hitting people or running to his mother, and Aaron, I’ll call to arrange something. We still owe Morgan a trip to the aquarium with Sam.”
Aaron was poised to argue more, but he glanced at me and nodded instead. “All right. I’ll get Sam and go. I just never wanted them to lose each other.” He paused. “When you’ve got a good thing, you have to hold onto it. Even if it means fighting for it.”
He ignored the narrowing of Christina’s eyes and disappeared down the hall for Morgan’s room. The low murmur of their voices pounded against my skull, and then he was back, his hand on Sam’s shoulder. Nodding to me once, he walked past and let himself out.
“Is he always that pushy?” Christina asked.
“He’s not pushy. He just…cares a lot and has his own ideas about things. I think you just don’t like him because he’s too much like you.”
“So clearly you have a type.”
I felt the blush crawling up the back of my scalp, and there was no point in denying it. “I’m going to talk to Morgan.”
“I’ll make a snack. He’s probably hungry by now.”
I found Morgan sitting on his bed, his knees folded and his face dirty and streaked with drying tears. I closed the door behind me and sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for him to acknowledge me.
“Are you going to yell at me, too?”
“No. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
“Me and Sammy were playing tag, and some older boys wanted to play, too. But they were running too fast for Sam. And he was it, so Eddie started making fun of him, and calling him a baby. Then he pushed Sam down, and I told him not to do that. So then he shoved me and I hit him back.”
“You only hit him?”
“I kicked him, too.”
“After he was down?”
“Yes.”
Which might have been the actual act that set Christina off. “Okay, listen to me, Morgan. You’re not going to get in trouble for defending yourself or Sam. One punch is self-defense. But you are going to be on restriction until tomorrow.”
“Why? You said I’m not in trouble.”
“You’re not in trouble for defending yourself. But there’s a difference between self-defense and kicking a man when he’s down. And that is not ever acceptable. Understand?”
Morgan nodded. “Yes. Can I still play with Sam?”
“Of course you can. We’ll definitely do something with him the weekend you come back.”
“Mom and Mr. Hardison like to argue, don’t they?”
“Yes, but only when they both feel very strongly about something. Sometimes adults disagree about the best response. So I guess that’s your other lesson for the day, kid. Adults don’t always know everything. Except me.”
Morgan grinned. “You don’t know everything.”
“I most certainly do. Now, do you have your DS?”
“No. It’s in my other room.”
“Okay, when you get home, you need to give it right to your mother. And don’t make that face at me. You got off easy. Come on, Mom’s making food.”
Morgan finally brightened at that, and I hoped the trauma of the day would be put behind him. Now I needed to figure out how I’d put the shock of seeing Aaron behind me. It would get easier. It had to get easier, right? 12
I waited until Sam was asleep before giving in to the impulse to call Peter. Once I calmed down about Christina, I realized I still desperately wanted to speak to him. Seeing him only reminded me of how much I missed him. It’d only been a handful of days since he, well, since he broke up with me, but it seemed like much longer. After my brief time with Christina, I realized a couple of things. I didn’t want to be some “random guy” in Morgan’s life, or nothing more to Peter than an inconvenience at play dates.
“If you’re calling to press your case, everything’s already been taken care of,” Peter said, after his more polite greeting.
Relief flooded through me. “I wasn’t, but thank you. I’m sorry I was such an asshole.”
“Apology accepted, though I don’t think you were being an asshole.”
“Your ex thought I was. And you don’t need me making things more difficult for you. That’s the last thing I want.”
“No, it’s fine. I probably should have seen it coming. You both have…assertive personalities when you feel strongly about something.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Are you?”
“Not really. That’s why I called.” I took a deep breath. “Can I see you?”
Peter hesitated just long enough for my heart to start to race. “Yeah. When?”
“Does now make me sound too pathetic?” Fuck, it did even to my ears. I rushed to add, “Sam’s already asleep. I waited until we could have some real privacy before calling, but if you have to get up early in the morning or something…”
“No, now is fine. I can come over.”
“Good. I’ll see you in a few.”
I didn’t know how long he’d take, so after disconnecting, I raced upstairs to make sure I looked okay. I wasn’t entirely sure why I felt the need to primp, except that I wanted to look good for Peter. He’d been all I’d thought about all night. How he’d been the rock I needed the night of the ER trip. How he made me smile when we were together. How much Sam adored him. All the drama of Friday night aside, it had almost been perfect, and that had been because of Peter and Morgan.